Magic blow Tactix out of the water

Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic brought Canterbury Tactix back to earth with a thud, cantering to a 65-45 win in their trans-Tasman netball league clash in Mt Maunganui on Monday.

The Tactix were on a high after recording their first win of the season, a hard-earned double extra-time 80-78 win over Northern Mystics last week.

But the Magic had plenty to prove, coming off the bye two weeks after a lacklustre 57-51 loss to West Coast Fever in Perth.

The win was built around a commanding defensive effort from the Magic, Casey Kopua at goal keep and goal defence Leana de Bruin restricting classy Tactix goal shoot Jo Harten to just nine shots in the first 30 minutes.

The pair, who switched positions for the second half, snaffled an impressive amount of turnover ball as the Magic's through-court defensive pressure forced the Tactix into a lateral game.

Down by nine at the end of the first quarter, the Tactix lifted to take the second spell 15-14 and trail 31-23 at half-time.

But they fell away badly in the third stanza, the Magic dominating the midcourt to lead 49-31 with 15 minutes remaining.

Magic coach Noeline Taurua was able to use her bench, 18-year-old midcourter Nadia Loveday making a good fist at wing attack for the last 30 minutes and showing some nice touches with the feed into goal shoot Irene van Dyk.

The evergreen Silver Ferns shooter was able to dominate the Tactix circle defence, showing superb accuracy in shooting 100 per cent with 38 from 38.

She combined well with former Tactix shooter Ellen Halpenny, who upped her work rate in sinking 21 from 25 after replacing Jess Waitapu at the end of the first quarter.

The win means the defending champions ease back into the trans-Tasman championship top four, sitting third behind the unbeaten Queensland Firebirds and second-placed Adelaide Thunderbirds.